#20: Hey, look at that! Sorry I got distracted. See why in this week’s Things

It’s my last week here at It’s Nice That! So I decided to curate a list of some of my favourite Things that I’ve spotted or noticed during my time here. And after this week, Things will never be the same again…

Michael Parkin: The World’s Most Distracting Desk Ornament

Michael Parkin: The World’s Most Distracting Desk Ornament

Michael Parkin: The World’s Most Distracting Desk Ornament

Michael Parkin: The World’s Most Distracting Desk Ornament

Michael Parkin: The World’s Most Distracting Desk Ornament

The award for The Most Distracting Thing in the It’s Nice That office during my time here goes to… this desk ornament by Michael Parkin. It’s a curious creature that is beginning to become a sort of It’s Nice That pet, or maybe a mascot, one that never blinks and is always, always watching you. You can’t even turn the thing away to face the wall, because it’s got a double-sided face. www.parkinparkin.com

Ingo Giezendanner: Grrr zines

Ingo Giezendanner: Grrr zines

Ingo Giezendanner: Grrr zines

Ingo Giezendanner: Grrr zines

Ingo Giezendanner: Grrrr zines

I wrote about Ingo’s work a month ago, and I’m completely convinced that his art is some of the most intriguing and innovative that I’ve come across during my time here. Ingo’s website is a labyrinthine digital atlas that documents all of the places that he’s ever traveled to and illustrated. He draws overlooked places and unknown spaces in cities all around the world, and these detailed and very inky, black and white zines bring together some of his intricate city illustrations. I can’t wait to see where Ingo’s travels will take him next. www.grrrr.net

Anna Kiernan and Harriet Lee-Merrion: Pick me up

Anna Kiernan and Harriet Lee-Merrion: Pick me up

Anna Kiernan and Harriet Lee-Merrion: Pick me up

Anna Kiernan and Harriet Lee-Merrion: Pick me up

Anna Kiernan and Harriet Lee-Merrion: Pick me up

This beautiful and silky white chapbook brings together the evocative words of Anna Kiernan and the stunning images of Harriet Lee-Merrion, whose incredibly intelligent narrative illustrations I posted about a couple of weeks ago. What I find so beautiful about this collaboration is that Harriet’s illustrations are a response to Anna’s poetry: the images and words inform one another and create a kind of conversation. At the back of the book, the pair share some of the exchanges that helped them develop the project, and I find it very refreshing to see illustration being used not as mere decoration but as part of a intellectual dialogue. www.harrietleemerrion.com

Dale Crosby-Close: Hey

Dale Crosby-Close: Hey

Dale Crosby-Close: Hey

Dale Crosby-Close: Hey

Dale Crosby-Close: Hey

This is the best Thing that’s been sent to us this week. The pages of the ginormous comic book by Dale Crosby-Close are peopled with weird and wonderful scratchy figures going about their business. To look down at them makes you feel a bit like a god. After seeing this, I made up my mind – what is one of the best things about the It’s Nice That office? Getting to browse through comics all day.www.dalenotjason.tumblr.com

London Terrariums: Tote

London Terrariums

London Terrariums

London Terrariums: Tote bag

I think that when you start a new job, you end up learning things about yourself that you never knew. Since working at It’s Nice That, I’ve learnt that I really, really like terrariums, especially illustrations of them, like these by Barbara Dziadosz. London Terrariums make incredible little eco-systems, and it’s quite joyous to scroll through their tumblr page, looking at their process. Here is a tote bag sent to us by the green-thumbed London locals. www.londonterrariums.tumblr.com

It is no news that November has been a month of some drastic ups and downs. Around the world we’ve experienced great changes and losses over the past four weeks, but thankfully we received a range of uplifting, insightful and encouraging pieces of post through our letterbox making us a smile, even if we were feeling a little uncertain or just a little grumpy from the cold. From advent calendars that introduced the excitement of Christmas, to publications on food, cinema and typography, and even an album that got the studio dancing, here is November’s Things.h3. Mr Bingo’s Advent Calendar

This month the postman’s trip to 21 Downham Road was accompanied by a heavy satchel. Over September there was a running theme of publications making their way through out letterbox. From Risoprinted zines and colouring books, to nostalgic hardback anthologies and mammoth photographic journals, limited edition records and prints, there was plenty for the It’s Nice That team to flick through and marvel over. September’s Things is a celebration of printed matter we were more than lucky to receive. h3. Dean Chalkley: One

Sifting through the mountainous cache of postal delights this month made for very sweaty work, with the hot summer sun lingering long into the day. It was an absolute delight to kick back in the shade of the studio and enjoy the host of creative, printed delights you sent us.

Throughout July we were sent a mass of incredible work to keep us busy and cheerful through this whirlwind of weather we appear to be having. This month we whittled it down to our ten favourites including a stack of incredibly intricate zines, catalogues of furniture, children’s books that can be appreciated by all, and some hilariously topical illustration… h3. Sarah Tanat Jones: Make America Hate Again

Once again, the postbox was a veritable cornucopia overflowing with creative goodies this month, and we can’t thank you enough. It is always a delight to see what bold, brilliant and occasionally absurd pieces of work come through our door to brighten up our morning. But this does always makes it impossible to narrow it down to our 10 favourite pieces, so hard in fact this month we lost the ability to count and ended up settling on 11!

It was another strong month of post here at the It’s Nice That office, with a lot of high quality pieces of work added to our vast and growing collection of Things. This made it a hard decision to narrow it down to just ten pieces to feature, so we tried to select a healthy mix of creatives disciplines across a variety of forms: from published magazines, books, a print, a miniature sculpture and exciting projects from blossoming new talent. As ever, thanks to everyone who sent us lovely packages, creative work and letters. At the risk of turning into hoarders, keep it coming! It’s always exciting to see what we unwrap next. h3. Charlotte Reeve: OSUN